International role and trip down under ahead for Sussex cricket coach

Staff reporter

Sussex Cricket assistant head coach Jon Lewis will work with the England Lions and Perth Scorchers this winter.

He will assume the role of fast-bowling coach for the Lions, following Chris Silverwood’s appointment as England’s fast bowling coach.

Lewis will join the Lions at the National Cricket Performance Centre in Loughborough next week before travelling with the squad – which includes Sussex fast bowler, George Garton - to their training camp in Australia between November 13 and December 16.

The former Gloucestershire, Surrey, Sussex and England seamer will perform the same role for the Test match leg of the Lions’ tour to the West Indies that gets under way at the end of January.

Andy Flower, the Lions head coach, said: “We’re very happy for Chris, who has added significantly to our programme in the past, most recently in Sri Lanka last winter, in addition to the success he has had as a head coach with Essex.

“It left us with a vacancy but we are delighted to have an outstanding replacement in Jon Lewis – and we are very grateful to Keith Greenfield and Rob Andrew at Sussex for being so flexible and supportive in moving so quickly to allow Jon to join us now.

“Jon has worked with the Young Lions programme in the past, and in addition to his pedigree as an international bowler, he travelled to Australia with the Lions himself back in 2006, which was my first with the programme as an assistant to Peter Moores.”

Between his Lions assignments, the 42-year-old will head to Western Australia where he will assist with Big Bash League side Perth Scorchers alongside their head coach, Justin Langer.

Lewis will report back to the 1st Central County Ground at the beginning of March in time for Sussex’s pre-season programme.

Looking ahead to a busy winter, Lewis said: “I am extremely excited about the prospect of coaching the England Lions on tour in Australia and the Caribbean and the Perth Scorchers in one of the highest profile T20 tournaments in the world, the Big Bash. I will be working with two world-class head coaches in Andy Flower and Justin Langer, and assisting with the coaching of some of the most talented cricketers in the world.

“I have no doubt that the opportunity of working at this top level will provide diverse, worldwide experiences that will be invaluable to bring back to Sussex for the 2018 season.”

Sussex director of cricket Keith Greenfield is excited about the benefits Lewis' postings will bring for him and the club: “We are delighted that Jon has these great opportunities with the Lions and the Scorchers to further develop his coaching skills throughout the winter. We fully encourage all of our coaching staff to work in different environments and increase their knowledge and experiences so that they can improve and bring back new ideas to Sussex.

“Jon’s appointment comes at a good time for all concerned, so we are thrilled for him. Most of our bowlers are away this winter on playing placements overseas and we can use Jon’s absence as an opportunity to give more responsibility to James Kirtley in working with our Academy bowling group.”